Adjustable belt buckle with safety catch



Dec. 28, 1965 F. L. DAVIS 3,225,401

ADJUSTABLE BELT BUCKLE WITH SAFETY CATCH Filed June 23, 1964 m ill I I llllh IIIIII,

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"W HILE I in I INVENTOR. FRANK L. DAVIS HTTOIENEY United States Patent C) 3,225,401 ADJUSTABLE BELT BUCKLE WITH SAFETY CATCH Frank Louis Davis, 30 Mariners Lane, Northport, Long Island, NY. Filed June 23, 1964, Ser. No. 377,288 3 Claims. (Cl. 24-75) The invention herein disclosed relates to belt buckles, and the special objects of the invention are to provide a light weight, simple, inexpensive buckle construction which can be quickly and easily adjusted to desired belt length and which, while quickly separable, may be secured in the closed condition against possibilty of accidental release.

These and other desirable objects have been attained in this invention by the provision of companion sheet metal plates having transverse snubbing ridges impressed in the same for loops of the belt webbing and by which length adjustments may be readily made, said plates having interengaging parts by which they are releasably coupled together, with companion elements of a snap fastener on overlapping portions of the plates and by which the plates may be secured against any accidental releasing movement.

Other novel features of the invention and desirable objects attained are set forth and will appear in the course of the following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification illustrates certain present practical embodiments of the invention, but structure may be modified and changed as regards the immediate illustration, all within the true intent and scope of the invention as hereinafter described and claimed.

FIG. 1 in the drawing is a top plan view of one of the buckles as it appears in the closed and secured relation, with the webbing shown broken away.

FIG. 2 is a broken side or edge view of the buckle structure, partly in section.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are generally similar views of another form of the invention.

The interlocking buckle forming plates are generally similar to the constructions disclosed in Patent 3,081,506 of March 19, 1963, and patent application Serial Number 352,857, filed March 18, 1964, involving a laterally extended head portion carried by a reduced neck portion 11 on one plate 12 and the other plate 13 having a slot 14 for passage of the head portion and a reduced extension 15 for the neck portion of the first plate.

One plate, in this case, the slotted keeper plate 13, has an angled intermediate portion 16 forming an abutment for the head and serving to offset the opposite ends of the keeper to opposite sides of the head plate and locating end portions of the two plates in relatively overlying relation, with the two plates telescoped into substantially the length of only one plate.

The securing and adjustment of the companion lengths of belt webbing indicated at 17 and 18 is effected by impressing the end portions of the plates in inverted V-shaped ridges 19 and 20 and by slotting the inclined side walls of these ridges at 21, 22 and 23, 24 for loops 25 and 26 of the webbing.

The extreme edge portions of the plates are shown as slotted at 27, 28 for passage of the double layer portions of the loops.

Th'e inclined ridges serve as snubbers to firmly grip and hold the webbing under tension but permit easy length adjustment when desired upon turning the plates to an angled position permitting sliding movement of the webbing through the slots and about the tops of the snubbing ridges.

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The slotted snubbing ridges firmly hold the Webbing in adjusted relation but permit free adjustment when such is desired, and the oifset head and slot formation of the plates affords secure but quick and easy connection and disconnection of the buckle forming plates.

To lock the buckle plates in the engaged relation and thus to prevent any accidental disconnection, the two plates are secured in the flat overlapping engaged position by companion snap fastener elements on the overlapping portions of the plates.

Thus as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the overlying releasing handle portion 29 of the slotted keeper plate carries the pin element 30 of a snap fastener concealed at the underside of the same for engagement with a companion socket element 31 on the underlying portion of the head plate.

This snap fastener serves to lock the buckle parts in the closed connection relation, preventing accidental rerelease and at the same time permits intended release by simply lifting the handle 29 to release the snap fastener elements which will then permit angling movement of the plates to unhook the head from the keeper.

The location of the fastener elements between overlapping portions of the plates conceals these elements and protects them against injury or engagement by parts that might interfere with their cooperative engagement.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, a lanyard or extended handle 32 is shown connected with the handle portion of the keeper plate and the snap fastener elements 33 and 34 are mounted on this lanyard strap and on an underlying portion of the webbing.

For double security, the overlying portions of the two plates may carry companion snap fastener elements 35, 36 similar to the fastener elements 30, 31 shown in the first illustrated form of the invention.

Length adjustment may be eifected in this second form of the invention by slotted, inverted V-shaped ridges, as first illustrated or other suitable length adjustment means may be provided, such as the sliding bar 37, FIGS. 3 and 4, about which a loop 38 of the webbing is engaged and which bar is slidingly mounted across the slot 39 in the keeper plate by having slotted ends 40 slidingly engaged over edge portions of that plate.

What is claimed is:

1. Adjustable belt buckle with safety catch comprising, companion head and keeper plates,

the keeper plate having a slot for passage of the head of the head plate and an abutment wall for engagement by said head positioned for connection of the plates in overlapping relation and arranged to prevent longitudinal separation of the plates in said overlapping relation,

said plates having transverse snubbing ridges impressed in the shape of an inverted V in opposite edge portions of the same,

the inclined side Walls of said snubbing ridges having slots therein,

said buckle being adapted to receive loops of belt webbing extending through said slots and about the crests of said snubbing ridges for adjustably securing said plates to said webbing, and

companion snap fastener elements on opposed parts of said overlapping portions of the plates,

the overlapping portion of the keeper plate having an extended handle projecting over the snubbing ridge on said head plate in position for effecting lifting movement of said keeper plate to release the snap fastener elements and permit said head and keeper plates to be then separated.

2. Belt buckle having a readily releasable safety catch comprising,

companion substantially flat keeper and head plates cooperatively engageable in overlapping relation holding said plates against longitudinal separation, and

companion snap fastener elements connected with the respective plates and positioned to releasably secure said plates in the overlapping engaged relation described,

said keeper plate having means at the outer end of the same for adjustably holding belt webbing in the connected relation of the plates,

said plates being disengageable by longitudinal shifting movement of the same in a direction reverse to that of the engagement of said head plate with said keeper plate and said companion snap fastener elements being mounted on the opposing portions of the plates in the overlapping connected position of the plates and placed to cooperatively engage only when the plates are in the fully connected position,

whereby said snap fastener elements will hold the plates against longitudinal movement in the release direction and will hold the plates in position to hold the belt webbing in adjusted condition.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Barnett 24-77 Raymond 24-208 Sta'mm 24--201 Reiter 24-77 Harley 24197 Schuhmann 24-75 Shears 2477 20 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

E. SIMONSEN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. ADJUSTABLE BELT BUCKLE WITH SAFETY CATCH COMPRISING, COMPANION HEAD AND KEEPER PLATES, THE KEEPER PLATE HAVING A SLOT FOR PASSAGE OF THE HEAD OF THE HEAD PLATE AND AN ABUTMENT WALL FOR ENGAGEMENT BY SAID HEAD POSITIONED FOR CONNECTION OF THE PLATES IN OVERLAPPING RELATION AND ARRANGED TO PREVENT LONGITUDINAL SEPARATION OF THE PLATES IN SAID OVERLAPPING RELATION, SAID PLATES HAVING TRANSVERSE SNUBBING RIDGES IMPRESSED IN THE SHAPE OF AN INVERTED V IN UPPOSITE EDGE PORTIONS OF THE SAME, THE INCLINED SIDE WALLS OF SAID SNUBBING RIDGES HAVING SLOTS THEREIN, SAID BUCKLE BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE LOOPS OF BELT WEBBING EXTENDING THROUGH SAID SLOTS AND ABOUT THE CRESTS OF SAID SNUBBING RIDGES FOR ADJUSTABLY SECURING SAID PLATES TO SAID WEBBING, AND COMPANION SNAP FASTENER ELEMENTS ON OPPOSED PARTS OF SAID OVERLAPPING PORTIONS OF THE PLATES, THE OVERLAPPING PORTION OF THE KEEPER PLATE HAVING AN EXTENDED HANDLE PROJECTING OVER THE SNUBBING RIDGE ON SAID HEAD PLATE IN POSITION FOR EFFECTING LIFTING MOVEMENT OF SAID KEEPER PLATE TO RELEASE THE SNAP FASTENER ELEMENTS AND PERMIT SAID HEAD AND KEEPER PLATES TO BE THEN SEPARATED. 